1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to arrows. More particularly, the present invention relates to an arrow fletching assembly.
2. State of the Art
Arrows generally include an arrow shaft having an arrow head mounted on one end of the shaft and a nock on the opposite end of the arrow shaft. Arrows also typically include fletching mounted near the nock on the opposite end of the arrow shaft. Fletching typically includes three or four feathers or vanes which may be mounted helically along the arrow shaft to promote spinning of the arrow during flight.
Conventionally, the plurality of feathers or vanes of the fletching is adhered to the surface of the arrow shaft using epoxy or some other suitable adhesive. The feathers or vanes are typically evenly spaced around the circumference of the arrow shaft. For example, where three feathers are employed, each of the three feathers is approximately 120° apart from adjacent feathers. The nock is also generally fixed in place relative to the arrow fletching. Once the feathers or vanes and nock have been adhered to the arrow shaft, it is difficult to adjust their relative positions without removing one, the other or both. This makes field adjustment of the fletching unlikely. Additionally, there may be other instances where the ability to field tune the fletching for a particular broadhead or other arrow head may be desirable.
Conventional arrow fletching may include various colors. However, it would be advantageous to have bright and highly visible colors and arbitrary graphics associated with arrow fletching to make them more visible for retrieving or for displaying trademarks and other indicia.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an arrow fletching assembly that is field adjustable and can accommodate a variety of arrow shaft configurations. There further exists a need in the art for an arrow fletching assembly that is highly visible for ease of locating after shooting in the field. There exists a further need for an arrow fletching assembly that is configured for graphics and other indicia.